Value question - super clean 2005 Boxster S with salvage title
03-04-2019, 02:08 PM
#16
Rennlist Member
Geez, I'd have bought it at the price you paid too! I would think it's worth $8k-$12k, but would also be harder to market (many people are not interested in salvage cars, banks won't fund, etc.)
03-04-2019, 04:04 PM
#17
Advanced
Thread Starter
Since this thread has been resurrected, I figured I'd chime back in with an update of sorts. First, what I said about salvage titles in TX was in fact incorrect, "Zach L" above is absolutely correct. I took the car in for a normal inspection just as any other car's yearly inspection. That's all it took. I then filled out a form that I had corrected what was wrong with the car, which was only one component - the rear body control module under the drivers seat got wet and I replaced it with new, and the cost, which was $288. I then went to the motor vehicle bureau at the local court house, and applied for and received a new title. It is actually labeled a "rebuilt salvage" title. As an aside I find the use of the term "rebuilt salvage" funny, as in the case of this car, the "rebuilt" part consisted of plugging in a new module - that's it!
Most importantly, the car is an absolute blast to drive. It has wonderful power and handling, is reliable as a bank vault, burns zero oil, it's just an awesome car. I got extremely lucky with this car, there's simply absolutely nothing wrong with it. I've driven the car about 1200 miles so far, and it's been trouble free. I haven't even had to add one drop of oil. I have no idea what the heck the insurance company was thinking when they wrote this one off for what turned out to be the cost of a $300 repair, but I'm certainly glad they did!
I've made a few improvements to the car - I installed a new Kenwood DNX995S double DIN GPS nav/stereo unit integrated with a module into the existing Bose system - it looks and sounds great. It has Apple car play and everything works flawlessly. I ordered everything needed; the head unit, module, install kit, harness, etc from Rod at Car Audio Innovations in California. Rod was an absolute pleasure to deal with, I highly recommend him. He deals mostly in Porsche audio systems and really knows his stuff with Porsche's.
The soft touch paint on the center console was just a little bit dinged up so I wrapped the center console for now in carbon fiber, it looks really good. The plan for the future is to repaint the console but for now the CF wrap looks great. I also installed one of the Ben's ball bearing short shifter kits, and some solid Delrin shifter cable ends back by the trans. The car shifts with the precision of a rifle bolt now, what a great and huge difference. Rather than break up the stock shifter assembly to install the short shifter, I purchased a used stock shifter assembly and rebuilt that one with the Ben's ball bearing short shifter, leaving the stock 987 shifter assembly intact. This way if I ever decide to convert it back to the normal stock shifter it's a quick one hour or so job to swap back.
As far as the original question regarding value, as I had said in my first post, it was more a question of curiosity than anything else. The plan here is absolutely to drive and enjoy the car, which is exactly what we're doing with it now. One day everything comes for sale for whatever reason, so at that point I'll worry about what it's worth. I know of only a few things for sure:
-It's a great car, among the nicest 2005 Boxster S out there.
-It runs great and we enjoy it very much.
-It'll one day be sold, as everything eventually is, and when it is finally sold, it'll be worth less than the same condition and mileage similar cars because of the "rebuilt salvage" title. It is what it is.
In the end it all worked out better than could have been reasonably hoped for. It's a beautiful and great running car, and a lot of fun. The rest is gravy.
I got lucky on this one.
Most importantly, the car is an absolute blast to drive. It has wonderful power and handling, is reliable as a bank vault, burns zero oil, it's just an awesome car. I got extremely lucky with this car, there's simply absolutely nothing wrong with it. I've driven the car about 1200 miles so far, and it's been trouble free. I haven't even had to add one drop of oil. I have no idea what the heck the insurance company was thinking when they wrote this one off for what turned out to be the cost of a $300 repair, but I'm certainly glad they did!
I've made a few improvements to the car - I installed a new Kenwood DNX995S double DIN GPS nav/stereo unit integrated with a module into the existing Bose system - it looks and sounds great. It has Apple car play and everything works flawlessly. I ordered everything needed; the head unit, module, install kit, harness, etc from Rod at Car Audio Innovations in California. Rod was an absolute pleasure to deal with, I highly recommend him. He deals mostly in Porsche audio systems and really knows his stuff with Porsche's.
The soft touch paint on the center console was just a little bit dinged up so I wrapped the center console for now in carbon fiber, it looks really good. The plan for the future is to repaint the console but for now the CF wrap looks great. I also installed one of the Ben's ball bearing short shifter kits, and some solid Delrin shifter cable ends back by the trans. The car shifts with the precision of a rifle bolt now, what a great and huge difference. Rather than break up the stock shifter assembly to install the short shifter, I purchased a used stock shifter assembly and rebuilt that one with the Ben's ball bearing short shifter, leaving the stock 987 shifter assembly intact. This way if I ever decide to convert it back to the normal stock shifter it's a quick one hour or so job to swap back.
As far as the original question regarding value, as I had said in my first post, it was more a question of curiosity than anything else. The plan here is absolutely to drive and enjoy the car, which is exactly what we're doing with it now. One day everything comes for sale for whatever reason, so at that point I'll worry about what it's worth. I know of only a few things for sure:
-It's a great car, among the nicest 2005 Boxster S out there.
-It runs great and we enjoy it very much.
-It'll one day be sold, as everything eventually is, and when it is finally sold, it'll be worth less than the same condition and mileage similar cars because of the "rebuilt salvage" title. It is what it is.
In the end it all worked out better than could have been reasonably hoped for. It's a beautiful and great running car, and a lot of fun. The rest is gravy.
I got lucky on this one.
03-04-2019, 05:40 PM
#18
Just like anything else, it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. My estimate would only have merit if I were willing to pay you what I posted. My experience is that dealers will not purchase a salvaged car. So you have to sell it privately. When I was into racing, I knew lots of guys who would seek out cars with salvage titles which they purchased for just a few thousand and then used the car for parts. Enjoy the car and try to not invest into any upgrades, unless you realize that these upgrades have no affect on the car's value but you still want them to improve your driving pleasure.
03-04-2019, 06:53 PM
#19
Rennlist Member
Awesome update, good for you
